The next day, Lily Bai headed to the office.
She first held a meeting with the development team from Antarctic Studios that had just been acquired.
She told them to add a new feature to both the computer and mobile versions of Antarctic Studios: selfie short videos and user-generated clips.
“What’s the point of that?” asked the team leader.
“To boost user numbers!” Lily said. “The app already has a great user experience. Add this feature and our user base will explode!”
“Really?” They were skeptical. “Would anyone play with something so childish?”
Lily tossed her hair. “Just wait and see.”
...
By noon, Lily received the copyright contract for Dragon Abyss.
The main creative team was basically in place too.
Lily was very pleased with River Li’s efficiency and couldn’t help but praise him.
He leaned in conspiratorially and whispered, “Are we really going to shoot this?”
“Of course!”
“But...”
“Lily Bai!” Before he could finish, Eric Lan burst out of the conference room next door, glaring at her like he wanted to eat her alive.
“What’s wrong?”
“The Dragon Abyss project you want us to act in—is actually a boys’ love story!”
“Well... of course we’ll adapt it into a brotherhood story!” Lily said, touching her nose.
“So, are you expecting me to play the top or the bottom?”
“Uh... In a brotherhood story, there’s no top or bottom, is there?”
“Looks like you want me to play the bottom! You actually want me in a male-male romance—and as the bottom, no less!” Eric looked ready to eat her alive. “How am I supposed to survive in this circle after that? My parents will kill me! And—”
“Just hear me out—”
“I don’t want to hear it! I’m telling you, cast whoever you want—I’m absolutely not doing it!” He threw the script at Lily and stormed off.
Lily turned to Samson Zhang, who had followed her out. “Samson, will you act?”
Samson looked troubled. “I don’t know how to act...”
“Just play yourself! You don’t need acting skills,” Lily said.
Samson nodded obediently. “If you think I’m good enough, I’ll do it!”
Lily nodded, looking emotional. “Actually, you know what? Jenny recommended this project to me—she’s obsessed with the two male leads! Do you realize how powerful idol worship is? Whoever plays these roles, Jenny might just fall for him...”
“Are you serious?” Suddenly, Eric reappeared from outside.
Lily glanced at him, sounding a bit cool: “Why are you back again?”
“Were you serious just now? Was it really Jenny—”
Lily said, “River Li, Eric just quit, so start casting a new male lead right away—”
“No need, no need!” Eric grabbed River. “I’ll do it...”
“Are you sure you want to act?” Lily asked.
“Yeah.”
“Then how will you survive in the circle afterward?”
“Doesn’t matter. Those guys are just drinking buddies anyway. If I have to, I’ll just stop hanging out with them!”
“What about your parents?”
“Didn’t you say it’s being adapted into a brotherhood story? There won’t be any of those scenes...”
Lily smiled. “All right then!”
“But...” Eric suddenly hugged his own arms. “I’ve attracted weirdos before. If I really take this role, you have to protect me from obsessed fans.”
Lily stood on tiptoe and patted his blue-dyed head. “Don’t worry, Cousin, I’ll definitely protect you.”
...